Get2sammyb

This post relates to: Britney Spears

Music is a funny thing. Ego’s control so much of what we allow ourselves to listen to that it almost becomes scary. I know this because there are people in the world who will not even bother to spin Kanye West’s critically acclaimed “808’s & Heartbreaks” nor Britneys latest (and greatest?) “Circus”; instead opting for the more macho “big” release this year — Guns ‘n’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy”.

“Circus” is the follow-up release to a rejuvenated Britney on the back of the dark-electro fest “Blackout”. Being one of the eleven people that actually enjoyed Blackout last year, I’m naturally wanking all over the prospect of a saner Britney doing more of the same. “Circus” is the production extravaganza I’ve been yearning for over the past few weeks.

Records like “Circus” should not be dismissed because of the perceived lack of talent of the “artist”; instead someone should celebrate the fact that someone — be they Britney or an unnamed record label extraordinaire — has crafted a cohesive compilation of bouncing, interesting and (in places) innovative pop songs.

Single “Womanizer” feels like “Blackout pt.II” and paves the way for the four-to-the-floor banging glitch-electro-club sound that was so accomplished but understated in “Blackout”. The 80’s tom-rolls, distorted synths and unusual rhythms open the album brilliantly with Britney’s delivery lazy but refreshing next to the crowd of OTT female vocalists. Moving into “next single territory”, title track “Circus” is a more minimalistic subby grind-fest. The synth hits are hard and the prechorus perfect for close-ups of sweaty bodies in the video. The chorus unleashes into a warbling bass line and glitched backing vocals. It’s kinda like the music equivalent of sex really.

“Out From Under” is the first of a few ballads on “Circus” and Britney shows that she can still belt out the odd-tune or two. The chorus swirls with backing harmonies and crystal clear acoustic guitars twinkle across the soundscape. Rain music without a doubt.

Totally antithesising the mood “Kill The Lights” is a Thriller-inspired disco-pop track with subtle “horror movie” overtones — interestingly the subject of the lyrics: “Mr. Photography I’m ready for my close-up”. Our Britney still hasn’t forgiven the papp’s then? This track’s insanely catchy robotic bass line is her revenge. Or something.

Head-nodding potential is finally broken through with “Shattered Glass” — big swirly synths, enormous subby bass synth stabs and honky piano twitters drive a four-to-the-floor pop beat along. Sadly “If U Seek Amy” — a hip-titled ditty — takes the robo-pop philosophy too far as it develops from a painstaking filtered bass-line into an embarrassing mess of a chorus.

In fact “If U Seek Amy” begins a three-song lull of pretty shit songwriting. “Unusual You” may have a Euro-house beat and all the right production in the right places but feels underdeveloped and predictable. The vocals effect are creative however — an inspiring mix of harmonies, autotune and filters creates for a fresh approach but does little to improve the downtempo feel of the track. Likewise “Blur” starts like a Soundgarden track but grows into the obligatory Timbaland beat and gated synth.

Thankfully “Mmm Papi” quashes the depressing mood of previous tracks with a disco stomper. “Let’s make out” Britney insists before the synths blip all over the place and the bass moves the entire low-end. The lyrics suck but, hey, Britney co-wrote this one; catchy as fuck mind.

“Mannequin” is another hard hitting synth stab disco-track which suffers from the same problems as “Unusual You” before it. The production and melody is spot-on but the song feels tired and familiar. The glitch effects return for this one though, so if you’re a fan of those this is like chocolate cake.

“Lace And Leather” is a slap-bass Chic-esque disco encounter that would be the perfect closer for the record if the dogged “My Baby” wasn’t present at all. You can always pretend right?

While not always consistent, when “Circus” is at full-speed (namely with it’s astounding opening) the record delivers everything a listener could want: hooks, beats and great, great production. It’s shame some tracks “played safe” but the big-hitters are more than enough to carry the record as a whole. For the most part: brilliant. Now you just have to let your ego allow you to enjoy it.

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Upon spinning Kanye West’s new (awesomely titled) album “808’s & Heartbreak” I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’d heard the true rap fans slagging him off for his direction and the general public claim to “hate every song”. I’d also heard “Love Lockdown” myself the moment it leaked and had thought “wtf”. You see, as a compilation of tracks Kanye’s new album will take you somewhere you’ve never been ever before. And not in a pretentious-Radiohead way. This album lives up to the “genius” label Kanye himself has given it.

The album kicks off with giant synth pads and a simple metronome beat backed with tom rolls. The bass rumbles in the lowest possible end of the mix and Kanye opts not to rap but instead half-talk-half-warble under a mask of autotune. As his voice wobbles the autotune repitches and gives the effect that has been popular in house music and electro-pop for some time now. In fact it’s not even the first time this has been done in the rap genre (T-pain) but for some reason - coupled with the unusual beat and the uneasiness in Kanye’s voice this feels somewhat fresh. It’s just as you get comfortable with the direction that Kanye unleashes his first “wtf” moment. Like an old 70’s record that’s been concealed in the garage for the past 35 years Kanye opts to destroy his track by rhythmically scratching it. Not scratching in a DJ way - no I mean literally SCRATCHING it so it skips all over the place. You may think your CD is broken at first. It’s not. It’s probably the strangest effect I’ve ever known to be placed on track onef o such a commercial record. While the glitching does nothing for my feeling towards the song it does set you up for what the album is about to be.

“Welcome To Heartbreak” is one of the biggest songs on the album. A James Bond-orchestral score kicks the track off before huge compressed drum machines kick in and a sonic-gobbling synth occupying the high range of frequencies. Kanye’s lyrical intent hits hard from the first autotuned words of the track as he laments, “My friends showed me pictures of his kids // And all I could show him was pictures of my cribs”. 808’s & Heartbreak may not be packed with the rhymes and grooves that previous albums have made Kanye famous for but it’s no less powerful. This is probably Kanye’s most deeply honest record; realming into the space of a lament at times.

Kanye uses some strange sounds throughout this record. If the huge synths and orchestral patches weren’t enough to interest you perhaps the tonky-toy piano and sucking vocoded hits in “Heartless” will be enough to convince you that talent does actually go into making records like this. “Amazing” continues with the piano driven-feel but Kanye decides to mix his vocals a little lower in this track allowing more huge synth-pads and a Timbaland drum beat to keep the track flowing.

The first track to leak from the album “Love Lockdown” feels much less surprising in the context of it’s placement in the record. By the time you reach it you’re wondering where Kanye is going to take you next. It’s the first time Kanye decides to distort parts of his vocals which becomes a more regular occurrence further into the record. A Timbaland-esque beat gives the chorus massive energy which contrasts the basic sub-kick drum that occupies the verse.

“Paranoid” is probably my favourite track on the album. It’s produced like a radio-skit so it’s not only insanely catchy it’s also really clever. Kanye drops the autotuned vocals for this track and instead opts for a killer-synth riff and a raspy bass-line. It’s a fantastic pop-song and I’ve no doubt probably the most radio-friendly of the tunes on the album.

The distorted vocals return for “Robocop” and so does the radio-friendly pop. With an uplifting, almost Christmas-like chorus Kanye’s vocals are supported by a choir of male singers and juxta-posed by a subby kick drum and robotic hi-hat. As the Eleanor Rigby style string section groans Kanye laments, “Up late night like she on patrol // I told her it’s some things she don’t need to know”.

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Some people might think it unfair me reviewing a Guns 'n' Roses record; considering my outlandish hate for the whole of cock-rock as a genre and everything it stands for. Guess what - fuck off! Just like you're allowed to bash every record I've ever listened to I'm allowed to throw mud at the records that gets your pulse racing and make you feel so damn "alternative".

Thankfully I'm much more objective than most when it comes to music critique and I'll happily give anything a go once in order to offer my opinion. And that's what I intended when I sat down with the most talked about rock record this Christmas, Chinese Democracy.

It's instantly noticable from the start that this is not a Guns 'n' Roses (of whom I will refer to as GnR for convenience purposes from now on) record. No matter how much I hated Axl Roses close-to-irritating vocals on the "popular" GnR records of old I wouldn't replace them for the Marilyn Manson singing we're greeted to as Chinese Democracy swirls and twists it's way into a poor at best title-track. The overproduction that has been used on the record is clear from the off as big beats scatter the mix, whispers add "interest" and a jock-cock guitar riff masks a swirling wind backing. Then the vocals. Low, deep and void of character. I don't think anyone expected amazing musicianship given the copious amounts of session musicians that have been used on this record. You get tight overcompressed beats that exist for existence's sake and a range of guitar-wanking that is devoid of character. Exactly the opposite you'd expect from one of the worlds most highly revered classic rock bands.

The record will take you through a flow of incohesive flavours - from the groove driven Spanish tasting "If The World" to the ballad-based homage of my favourite novel "The Catcher In The Rye". Granted the music flows better when Axl sings more freely and the objective isn't so obviously "write another Welcome To The Jungle". It's these tracks that make you consider why this record wasn't conceived as an Axl Rose solo record instead of trying to live into the GnR name, which while meaning nothing to me sure as hell means a lot to thousands of others out there.

Sadly the likes of "Shacklers Revenge" and "Prostitute" move into the realms of cliche, tired and just downright uninteresting. And the rest of the record is far too inconhesive to ever set a single tone or a mood.

With more tracks like "Catcher In The Rye", "If The World" and "Street Of Dreams" a record branded as a solo Axl Rose could have succeeded. As it is though, Chinese Democracy is a mess of overproduced misdirections and glaringly obvious objectives. The album rarely flows, rarely sets a mood and basically never feels like a Guns 'n' Roses record.

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